Brotherly Bonds
by Aura Black Chan
Summary: Why didn't anyone want to adopt Mokuba? This is my attempt at answering that question
1. We Need To Talk

This fic is for everyone who has ever wondered 'Why didn't anyone seem to want Mokuba?' You would think that anyone with half a brain would jump at the chance of adopting a child as sweet as him along with his 'genius' older brother. No one did though, until Gozaburo Kaiba came along. Why was that? This is my attempt at answering that question.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh

Brotherly Bonds

Chapter One: We Need To Talk

Seto Kaiba looked up at the digital clock in his office, which read 10:59. He then turned to stare at the computer screen in front of him, with the day's transcripts awaiting his approval.

He had started working on them after dinner nearly four hours ago, and he had made no progress since then.

Running his fingers though his long hair, he groaned. He'd chosen this work specifically, because he could practically do it in his sleep in a relatively short time. Not tonight, though. Tonight he had other, more important things on his mind.

Mokuba.

Every six months they went though the same routine; He took his brother to his appointment, had the tests done, got the results back a few hours later, and they went back to their lives. Not this time, though.

No, this time Mokubas' appointment had been pushed back from the morning to the afternoon by some incompetent receptionist.

This time his tests were the last ones in before the weekend started.

This time they would have to wait three days before they got the results!

Three days!

It felt like a lifetime!

He turned once more to his untouched work, gave up and sent a message off to his assistant, telling her to cancel all his weekend appointments, as well as those on Monday. He couldn't focus on his work right now, not with this on his mind. He was too emotional, too scared, and much too angry to think of anything else.

HOW DARE THEY!

Didn't they realize how long three days could be? What it's like to look your brother in the eyes and not know that everything is going to be okay? How it feels to know that you're the only one left who really cares about him?

Seto released a slow, deep breath at this last thought. It wasn't entirely true now; there were other people in his brothers' life that would certainly care about what was going on. It wasn't always like that though. Not when they first found out what was wrong, or for a long time after that.

Now, though, his brother had Yugi Moto and his other friends to go to if he needed to. He wondered if Mokie had told any of them about today, or what his appointment was for. Probably not, since he wasn't expecting to have to wait so long for the test results. Besides, this had all become so routine for both of them, he didn't think about it too much. He sighed.

He knew he shouldn't worry about it so much. After all, it had been almost nine years since the initial diagnosis, and barely eight since it was declared 'in remission'. Every time the tests came back good, he felt as if they'd crossed another hurdle, left another painful moment behind. His anger suddenly returned with a vengeance.

How dare they rob them of that!

How dare they take away that feeling of blessed relief they both felt away from them! It was as if the rug had been yanked out from under them both for the umpteenth time in their lives!

How dare they…

He shook his head, trying to bring himself back into focus. _"Everything is going to be fine."_ He thought to himself. _"This means nothing, just that I have to kick a few_ _butts for that receptionists incompetence. This means nothing!" _It would have been nice, he decided, if he could just convince himself of that.

It was amazing. After all this time, he could still be reduced to a frightened seven- year-old because of some stupid delay.

Suddenly, without warning, he remembered that first day when his father had explained it to him.

Leukemia.

How could one word be so terrifying?

When his father had first told him what it was, how it would affect all their lives, not just Mokuba, part of him had wanted to die. Why was this happening to his little brother, he'd thought. He didn't do anything bad, it wasn't fair! Then he did what he did best back then; He asked questions. With every question he asked his father gave an answer, or the promise of one later. It was nice, he remembered, comforting even, that his father had taken the time to do that. He was used to his endless questions by then, so it must have felt good to lapse into something almost normal.

Then he remembered something else.

Later that same night, his father had come into his room to check on him. He was still awake, too wound up to allow his inquisitive mind rest, but too tired to move from his bed.

His father watched him for awhile, then seemed to have made-up his mind about something in that moment. Gently, he'd gathered him in his arms, and carried him into his own room, placing him on the large bed. He then turned and left, only to return a few minutes later with a sleepy, but very much awake, Mokuba. He then carefully placed the drowsy toddler in next to Seto before climbing in himself.

After he'd made sure no one would fall out in the middle of the night, he'd looked them both in the eyes and spoke to them in a determined, yet tender voice.

"I want you both to know something. This changes nothing. I still love you both more than anything else. That will never change." He'd leaned over then, pulled them both close to him and kissed them each on the forehead before going to sleep.

Seto Kaiba stood where he was, stunned that anyone had ever loved him so much. He couldn't believe that he'd forgotten that night, or how safe he'd felt curled up next to his father. He closed his eyes and remembered more. How he had listened to the sound of his brothers rhythmic breathing for what felt like hours. How he'd finally dosed off himself listening to the sound of their fathers' heart beating in his chest.

It was so peaceful.

All he wanted right now was to feel that safe again, to not have this familiar, terrible fear returning.

To not have to face this alone.

He left his office and headed for his brothers' room. It was late, and he was probably asleep by now, but he should check anyway. Quietly opening the door, he looked inside.

There was his brother, wide-awake in his bed. Mokie sat up to look at him when he entered the room.

"I couldn't sleep." He confessed, looking down at his lap.

"That's okay. I just wanted to see how you were." He walked over to him, sat on the edge of the bed, and put his arms around him tightly.

After a few minutes had passed like this, Mokuba looked up at his brother, a question in his eyes.

"What is it?" Seto asked him.

Mokuba looked down for a moment before answering. "I know this is gonna sound kind of babyish, but…"

"What? What is it?" he asked.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

After a moment, Seto smiled at him. "Sure Kiddo, anything you want."

Mokuba looked relieved and was about to get up, when Seto scooped him up, and carried him effortlessly to his own room.

"Hey! I'm tired but I can still walk y'know!"

Seto smiled playfully down at his brother. "Oh, no you can't. Hospital policy. No unnecessary walking after Ten P.M."

Mokuba only scowled at him.

As he set him down on the soft bed in his room, Mokie looked up at him with what looked like another question.

"What, is something wrong?"

"Dad did this once, didn't he?"

Seto was amazed, yet again. "Yeah, he did that first night we found out. I'm a little surprised you remember, you were just barely over two years old."

Mokie nodded. "Yeah, I remember. You asked dad a whole bunch of questions, and the next thing I remember, he put both of us in bed with him later that night."

Seto leaned over to gently ruffle his brothers' hair, when Mokuba put up a hand to stop him. "What else happened?"

He blinked at him, not understanding. "What do you mean 'What else happened?'"

Mokuba sighed, looked up for a minute, then looking his brother dead in the eye, asked, "What happened after that night?"

Seto Kaiba was startled. This was not a question he'd expected, even though Mokuba had asked about their parents before. Even then though, they had mostly been about what kind of people they were, what they looked like, even once how their voices sounded.

"What brought this on? You've never really asked about it before."

Mokuba stared down at the blanket. "You know, every time someone asks me what kind of person you are, I always tell them that you're the best big brother anyone could ever ask for."

A smiled tugged at Seto's lips as Mokuba continued; now looking up at him. "You know, the best thing you ever did was stick by me, especially that first year when I was so sick."

"What was I supposed to do? Leave you when you needed me the most?"

Mokuba looked away for a moment before he went on. "Every six months we go through the same thing. It's no big deal, I probably don't have anything to worry about…"

"Go on."

He closed his eyes and sighed, then looked up again. "We never talk about it. That's what's brought this on. I mean" he continued quickly now "I understand why you don't like to talk about it, we were practically alone and no one really cared much what happened to us, but-"

"But what?" he'd stopped so abruptly, it was unnerving.

"But sometimes I need to talk to you about it." He finally said. "Not with my friends, not with some under-paid school councilor, you."

Seto didn't move, his mind frozen by this declaration. He'd always assumed that Mokuba didn't want to talk about that part of their lives anymore than he did. It was not a happy chapter, to say the least. Doctors with charts, Nurses with sympathetic looks, other families with sick children, late night hospital visits, chemo…

"Seto?"

He heard his name, and suddenly remembered where he was.

Mokuba was still looking at him, a little scared, but still determined.

"Please," he went on. "I need to talk about it. With you."

Seto stared at him for another moment, then pulled him into his arms.

"Alright." He quietly conceded. "If you really need to talk about it, then okay."

"Thank you." Mokuba quietly mumbled into his shirt.

Seto got up, went over to his dresser and pulled out some nightclothes to wear; just an old T-shirt and some sweats.

After he was changed up, he went over to his bed and climbed in alongside Mokie who was already under the covers.

Lying on his side, with his head propped up on one hand, he looked at his little brother, who had assumed a similar position.

"Okay," he started. "What do you want to talk about first?"

A.N.: Before I get any flames from people reminding me that there are people who will adopt a sick child just remember; something like that comes with a lot of responsibility, both financial and emotional. Not everyone wants that right from the start with an adopted child. This also casts a new light on the families who came to adopt Seto, but changed their minds when he refused to leave his brother behind.

Also, I apologize if anything I have written is being portrayed incorrectly. I have no wish to offend anyone with this story. I will gladly accept any suggestions or information that anyone thinks will be helpful to this fic. Corrections would be welcomed as well.

Read and Review!


	2. Begin at the Beginning

Thank you everyone who has reviewed! I won't be answering questions at the beginning or the end of chapters. I am instead going to let the story speak for itself.

I have no idea what Seto and Mokuba's family name was before they were adopted, but I can tell you that I chose the one I did for a very specific reason.

**Brotherly Bonds**

****

Chapter 2: Begin at the Beginning

I pray that my love for you will brim with practical wisdom,

that where appropriate

I will be able to respond to your questions with clear answers.

I pray that my love for you will brim with imagination,

that where appropriate

I will be able to answer your questions with enlightening stories.

~Modern prayer from Uppsala, Sweden

Seto watched, as his brother seemed to think about something, eyes closed as if in deep thought. For awhile it looked as if Mokuba might have changed his mind, or gone to sleep, until he opened his eyes and fixed him with a steady look.

"Start-start at the beginning." He finally said.

"Which would be?"

Mokuba seemed to consider this question. The beginning could refer to a lot of different things for both of them. Then he knew where he wanted to begin.

Watching his older brother carefully, he tried again in a quiet voice. "Start with the week dad died."

Seto winced, trying his best to keep his reaction minimal, but he couldn't. It was one of his most painful memories, and it still sometimes felt as if it had been only yesterday. Some of the details had become blurry over time, but others stood out like beacons in the darkness. 

Suddenly, with amazing clarity, he could remember their last day at home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Seto? Seto, where are you?"

I ignored her calls, like I always did. I thought maybe if she didn't find us in time we wouldn't have to go today, and I'd be able to convince her not to leave us there.

"Seto, come on, I know you're up here somewhere!"

Ha! Like she could ever find me!

"I know you have Mokuba with you!"

My little brother dozed right next to me, wrapped up warmly in his blanket and my arms.

"Seto! This is NOT funny!"

Ooh, she sound's mad. Tough luck, Auntie!

"SETO! You come out here, THIS INSTANT!"

Not with that attitude, I won't!

"Seto Koto, you come out here right now, or-"

Or what? You won't send us away? You won't put us in that orphanage? You won't stop yelling in the house my father had built for us?

My father.

I still can't believe you're really gone. I was there, though, at your funeral. I went up to you to pay my last respects, still hoping that this were a nightmare I would wake up from, screaming. That you'd come into my room and tell me that it was all just a bad dream, that you hadn't really died, that Mokie and I weren't all alone now.

Just us.

Alone.

"SETO!"

Oh, shut up, you stupid-

"Now Seto! Or do I have to call someone to come get the two of you?"

"…"

"Well?"

"Pfft. Fine, I'm coming!"

"Finally! Where are-"

Her sentence was cut short when I opened the door to the hall linen closet two feet away from her. The look on her face was priceless. I can't understand why though? I mean, she only looked in there about, oh six times and didn't find us.

One of the great things about dad being an Architectural Engineer; he'd decided even before he got married that he wanted to design and build his own house. Just to make things fun, he'd also added a few hidden closets here and there, and some secret ladders and stairways in the walls.

Oh yes, dad knew how to have fun. Especially since he'd never told anyone, except for mom and me where they all were. 

Which would explain why Auntie was giving me her death glare at the moment. Apparently dad never told her where the hidden passages were.

Hmm, maybe that's why she never babysat too often.

"Seto-"

"I came out, didn't I?" Or maybe it's because auntie and I have never really gotten along.

"Seto, listen, I know you're upset-"

Oh, NOW she's gonna try to be understanding?

"-but this just can't be helped! I haven't been able to find work for over a year-"

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, foowey!

"-and every decent job I do interview for won't be open for at least another year, or longer! I can't wait that long, and neither can the two of you!"

I just stood there, glaring at my fathers' sister for what felt like forever. I mean, who said she got to decide what was best for Mokie and me? It's not as if she was ever around much before dad died. Heck, I don't even remember her being around much before mom died! 

Since when is she the best judge of what's right for us?

Auntie returned my glare for a few minutes, (which is kinda pathetic, since I'm only seven) then she seemed to give up, and move on.

"Have you finished packing yet?"

I only glared at her more.

"Seto…"

"Yeah, I'm done packing for me and Mokie, okay?"

She paused for a minute. 

"Alright then, lets go out to the car."

What, having second thoughts _Auntie_? I thought this was supposed to be the best decision for all of us. I mean hey, if you can't find a job, leave your brother's children at an orphanage. It makes perfect sense. I can't imagine why more people don't try it.

Oh yeah, that's right. Some people actually get jobs they normally wouldn't even consider getting until they can get a 'decent job'.

That's a sad excuse Auntie. I know a whole bunch of kids at school whose mom's and dad's haven't had a 'decent job' longer than you, and they don't send their kids away to an orphanage.

As I head down the stairs to the front door, Mokie at my side, we pass the living room with all the nice furniture that our mom picked out when her and dad got married.

I walk in one more time, not caring if auntie got mad again.

I'm looking around at the comfortable sofas, and pretty wall hangings, when I realize what I'm going to miss the most about this room.

Mom's piano.

She'd studied music before she got married, even toured for awhile with some of the biggest music companies in the world afterwards. She stopped though when she had me, but she always told me that she wasn't sorry for it. That I was more important to her than any performance she could ever give.

She taught music to some of the neighborhood kids for awhile, but I was her favorite student. She always told me that music could give a better voice to what we feel than any book, or computer ever could.

Right here, right now, I needed to hear _her_ voice. 

Everytime I played the piano after she died I could always remember her more clearly, as if she was right there with me. I need to be able to remember her here one more time.

I open the music book on the stand, find a song I now know by heart, and start to play the first chords. Mokie sits down on the bench next to me, always happy to listen to me play.

It's one of her favorites, I remember, from her favorite movie. What was it called again?

Oh yeah, I laugh to myself; The sound of Music. This one's called Find your Dream, I think.

As I let the pretty melody take me back to a happier time, I forget everything around me, but the feel of the keys under my fingers and the sound of Mokie breathing next to me. I don't want this moment to end, not ever.

When it does though I notice Auntie standing in the doorway, waiting for us.

"Seto…"

I wait, hoping that she might have changed her mind.

"We have to go now."

I guess I was hoping for too much.

I reach up and take the music book with me as we leave, wanting to bring something with me to remind me of mom. I take Mokies' hand again and followed our aunt outside.

I close the front door of the house behind me for what I guess will be the last time. I can see into the back yard from where I am. There's a really neat play area that dad was always working on for us. He never seemed to think it was ever really done. He just kept adding to it, making it bigger, and bigger.

Up at the top of the hill past the yard, I can see the wooded path that leads up to the tree house. Dad built it for me after he found out mom was gonna have Mokuba. It was a lot like the house too, full of secret compartments and surprises.

"Seto, hurry up! I want to beat the rush hour traffic!"

Like I care what you want?

I helped Mokie get into his seat belt before climbing in myself. I couldn't help myself; I took one last look.

Even the flowers in mom's garden seemed sad as we drove away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So where is this place, anyway?" 

We'd been driving for what felt like hours. I was hungry, thirsty, tired and I really wanted to get away from her as soon as possible.

"It's still a couple more exits away. We'll be there soon."

Don't sound too excited to get rid of us, it's not like one of us has Ebola or something.

Just Leukiemia.

I looked down at Mokie, asleep on my lap. He didn't look sick, just tired from the long drive. I gently brush a few hairs from his face, wondering who will take care of him if something happens to me next. 

Stupid thing to think about, but what else did I have to focus on? Stupid Auntie didn't even think to let me keep a few books with me for the long ride. 

When she saw that I had the music book, she made me put it in the trunk with the rest of our stuff. Probably didn't want us to make a mess in her stupid car. I bet that's why she didn't want to stop for lunch either. She didn't want us to ruin the stupid seats in her stupid car, because she's stupid and doesn't think little kids need to stop for food or anything else on stupid long car rides to stupid places.

Hmm, I think I should learn a few more words that mean stupid.

"Okay, we're here!"

Oh, goody.

I looked at the new place that was gonna be mine and Mokie's new home for however long. It didn't look like much.

When I heard someone suggest to Auntie that we go to a halfway house for kids, I thought, I dunno, that it wouldn't have a roof or something. Y'know, half a house. It wasn't what I thought it would be.

After I looked at it for a little while, I noticed it was nicer than I thought it would be too. 

There was a tall hedge surrounding the front yard of a large, white house with a neatly kept front garden. A concrete path led up to the front porch, with a wide porch swing on it. The back yard was fenced in but what I could see of it was nice with a jungle gym and slides. Right next to the front door was a sign that read 'Haven House: Home for critically ill children'.

That's when a new thought hit me, and it wasn't a good one.

"No way!"

"What?"

"I'm NOT leaving Mokie here, and that's that!"

"Seto, I never said-"

"SHUT UP! If you really wanted to keep us, you would have tried harder-"

"Seto-"

"Now you're separating me and Mokie-"

"Seto-"

"AND I WON'T LET YOU DO IT!"

"SETO KOTO, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Mokie woke up then, crying because we were yelling. I put my arms around him and glared up at her for what must have been the hundredth time that day.

"I won't let you separate us."

"I wasn't planning on it."

Excuse me?

"When I was calling around for places that would take both of you together, all of them said "No", because Mokuba is sick, and they don't have the means to keep him away from other children who might pass their germs on to him."

"So then, why are we here?" You're not getting off the hook that easy.

She had been staring at the steering wheel the whole time. Now though, she looked up and turned to look at us both. That's when I saw she'd been crying.

Oh God, don't make me feel sorry for her now.

"Y'know, I really did try to find a job so I wouldn't have to give you guys up. It just didn't happen. I'm sorry."

"…"

"Well anyway, the people here said that you could both come as long as you both obey their house rules."

"Why? What is this place, and who are these people who said yes?"

She lets out a deep sigh before going on.

"It's a place where families with sick children stay when they have to go into the hospital for treatment."

I was quiet for a minute. This didn't sound much better than an orphanage.

"We're gonna stay with a bunch of different people, who already have sick kids, in a house in the middle of nowhere?"

"It's not the middle of nowhere, Seto. The hospital is just ten minutes away, and no, you're not going to be looked after by the people who bring their children here. There's a staff of volunteer's here who stays to run the place. That way, if a problem comes up in the middle of the night they can take care of it."

I looked down at Mokie. He'd stopped crying now, but he looked scared as if he were waiting for me to make the right decision.

I suddenly felt her hand on my face as she turned me around to look at her.

"I told them all about you, Seto. How you've always helped take care of Mokuba. They don't have a problem with you living here too."

I pulled away from her touch. Why'd she have to start acting all nice now?

"Seto?"

I looked down. "What is it, Mokie?"

"You stay here with me?"

He looked so scared, as if he thought I might really leave him alone here. If he doesn't stay, he might not get the treatment he need's in time, but if I don't stay-

-Who will be left to love him?

I hold him close to me, wanting at least one of us to feel safe.

"You bet little brother. I stay here with you."

I hear Auntie getting out of the car then to talk to some people. I didn't really care whom.

As long as I got to stay with Mokie, nothing else mattered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mokuba stared down at the space between the two of them, as Seto finished talking.

"So that was how we ended up there first?"

"Mmhmm."

Mokuba was quiet again before he looked up as if something had just occurred to him.

"Do you still have that music book somewhere?"

Seto was momentarily puzzled. "Yeah, it's around here somewhere. Why?"

He half-shrugged, looking speculative. "I just wanted to look at, that's all."

Seto smiled then. "Alright, I think I can find it. In the morning though, it's a bit late now."

"Okay, g'night." He yawned out the last words before closing his eyes.

Seto pulled the blankets tightly around his brother before giving in to sleep himself.

Sometime later, Mokuba woke up with a small start. It was no big deal; he'd just felt cold.

Looking over at Seto he quietly moved closer to him until he was in his arms. It always helped him sleep before.

Seto, unconsciously, pulled him closer until he was up against his chest.

"I love you, Seto." He whispered.

With a sigh of deep contentment, Mokuba closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

~I hope everyone liked this chapter. I couldn't see Seto going to an orphanage willingly, but I could see him giving his Auntie a hard time about it! Please keep in mind he's only seven, and while he is a genius, his vocabulary does not quite reflect that yet.

~The poem at the beginning is called "Answers and Stories". I found it in a book called "The Bridge of Stars".


End file.
